This scene gets very graphic, so discretion is advised as it details how Crane died with a considerable amount of detail and will be marked with bold.
"They're surrounding us!" Marsh blew the biggest flame he could at the crowd of IceWings who dodged out of the way just in time.
Umber was panicking now. IceWings were surrounding them and closing in as the seconds passed. Their eyes were full of courage and triumph and it was as if time was slowing to a halt as he looked around. The shiny metal tips of their spears glinted and then slowly faded as a cloud covered the sun just like the last bit of hope he had to get out of this situation alive had done mere seconds ago. He was preparing for the long and agonizing death these IceWings would put them through as he looked around to catch one more glimpse of his sibs before he was inevitably killed.
"Stay calm and remember your training!" Reed yelled. "Stay in position and cover each other!"
Reed had always been a good brother to Umber. He always listened to him, they made jokes, picked fun at each other, and played games together often. But right now, he knew that deep down Reed was sure that this was the end of them as much as he did, but he also knew that he had to be the bigwings they always admired so much. Even in panic he somehow seemed to stay calm for them because if he was calm, he knew they would be too, but not Umber. Being the smallest in the group made him an easy target, and he definitely noticed it. Reed had saved his life so many times that it was hard to keep track, but not anymore. Nobody was coming to save him now and he was sure of it.
He looked around at the IceWings as he tried to remember each and every one of their faces so that he could come back in the afterlife and take revenge. As much as he wanted to though, he couldn't be mad; he could only sympathize for them because he knew that this wasn't their choice. They were ordered by Queen Glacier to do this and if they didn't, they would probably lose everything they cared about most.
No more fighting, no more running. This is it, he thought.
One of the IceWings lunged at him with their spear in talon, ready to pierce it through his scales. He swore he could feel his heart jump through his chest, but all he did was close his eyes and try to remember every good memory of him and his sibs because he didn't want his final moments to be filled with fear.
After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and took a second glance at everything around him. He double-checked by feeling around all of his scales and checking his talons to see if he was still alive. He didn't feel any pain, but he was suspicious that it might be the initial shock that had numbed him for now.
Am I dead? he wondered. And if I'm not, then am I dying?
Everything seemed to be fine and just like it was before. It was as if he had somehow unlocked his inner animus and had cast a spell for him and his sibs to live. A huge wave of relief fell over his whole body and his wings began to feel weak once he realized that he was still alive. This relief was short-lived though as he finally registered what was happening. Crane was in the IceWing's talons that had lunged at him before, and there was blood soaking her scales. It wasn't IceWing blood though, it was far too red to be IceWing blood; It was Crane's blood and there was a massive cut on her throat and there was blood spilling from it. It turns out that she tackled the IceWing mid-air and struggled for a few seconds before eventually getting overpowered.
The IceWing was staring at him with a big smile spread across her face. Her eyes were as cold as her scales and her gaze made Umber feel like he was pinned down with no other options but to stay where he was, frozen in place.
"C-Crane…?" Umber muttered as tears began pouring from his face.
"Now's our chance!" Reed yelled "Retreat!"
Through his tears, he saw Reed begin to bolt towards the ground, then Marsh, then Sora, then Pheasant. He looked around not knowing what to do. He didn't want to leave her, but what choice did he have? It's not like he could save her or he would certainly be killed. Being all out of options and in a state of complete panic again, he passed out. Right before he did though, he watched the IceWing let go of Crane and watched her limp body fall through the air. He woke up a few seconds later, falling through the sky, and realized that a few drops of blood dripped on his snout, then more, and more, until his whole body was drenched in blood. It was as if somehow someone had poured a massive bucket of it on him while he was falling.
A few seconds later, he hit the ground with a thud but it didn't hurt nor did he feel the heat of the sun against his scales anymore. In fact, he felt liquid submerging at least half of his body as he landed.
He quickly stood up and took a quick glance around and realized that he was in a black abyss. He was standing in a thin pool of red liquid that was only a few feet deep that wreaked of iron and seemed to stretch for miles.
"H-Hello?" he called out. His voice echoed back to him a few times before going quiet.
Then, he heard a splash followed by a wave of the red liquid washing over him, covering him even more than before. The liquid was red and thick and felt and smelled extremely similar to blood and was almost sickening. As confused as he was, his mind was immediately pulled to whatever had fallen a couple of seconds ago.
He quickly ran over to whatever had fallen into the liquid and saw Crane's body lying there and he could distinctly make out the cut even more than before. Her eyes were wide and her pupils were dilated, but there was movement and he could see that she was tracking Umber's every move.
"Crane!" Umber yelled. "Come on! Get up! The others are waiting for us!" he cried. "Please get up! You're fine, right? It's just a scratch, right? Crane?!"
"It's gonna be OK, Umber," Crane said softly, gurgling up blood with every word. "Go win this war for me, alright?"
"NO!" Umber yelled, falling on top of Crane, closing his eyes as his scales met hers. "Please…please don't go. You can't go!" His whimpers were echoing through the endless void as he watched Crane's eyes slowly close and her body go completely still.
"Umber?" a voice called out in the distance. "Are you alright? Umber?"
Umber opened his eyes to familiar yellow sand and immediately shot his head up as his hearing slowly came back. He could hear the ocean waves in the background and could feel his heart pumping through his chest. It was dark outside now and he could feel the cold against his scales.
He quickly backed up a few steps before he reflexively began to build up fire in the back of his throat, letting out a hissing sound. He was on high alert after seeing what he did and his war instincts were taking over as fear, panic, and extreme sadness ran through his whole body. There was no second of hesitation like usual whenever he was scared awake like this. It was just like how it was back at war when he was wired to be on high alert constantly.
"Woah, Umber!" the voice said. "Calm down, it's Flame! I heard you crying or something, so I woke you up."
"F-Flame?" Umber let go of the fire he was about to unleash.
He realized that the scales under his eyes were soaked with tears now and he could still feel them pouring down his face. He looked over at where he was sleeping in the sand and could see a big spot where the sand was darker than the rest. He realized that it must've been where his tears had soaked into the sand. Right now, he was so lost and confused and couldn't tell what was real and what was fake. Something about Flame though, real or fake, made him feel safe. He has never had a nightmare about him and he hopes he never will.
"I'm so sorry!" Umber cried.
More tears began rolling down his face as he crumpled to the ground, letting out whimpers as he did. All he could think about was how he almost just lit his favorite dragon in Pyrrhia on fire and that he had just watched Crane die in front of him again when he felt a familiar set of talons on his shoulders.
"A-Are you okay?" Flame said. "Pardon my French, but holy shit Umber. I've never seen you snap like that before."
"I-I just had a nightmare," Umber said, forcing himself to stop crying.
"That was more than just a nightmare," Flame said. "I've never even seen you begin to use your fire before, let alone directed at me!" He began to wrap his wings around Umber. "If something's wrong then you need to tell me."
"Don't worry! I just had a really scary nightmare and you startled me when you woke me up is all. It's nothing!" Umber said. "Now stop swearing! I'll give you a pass this time because I almost lit you on fire, but no more swearing!"
"OKAY, IT'S TIME FOR DINNER YOU THREE!" Avalanche yelled.
He looked over at the table and could see Simoom, Avalanche, and Shrimp all sitting down in their respective seats from before. None of them seemed to realize the freakout he just had, and he was thankful because he never wanted anyone to see him as he had just been especially Flame.
"Alright, let's go eat dinner now! I'm starving!" Umber said before Flame could say anything. He wouldn't dare look Flame in the face and see the worry.
Umber began walking toward the table with his head down, wiping away the tears so that nobody suspected what was happening. He took a minute to calm down and collect his thoughts on the way over so that nobody would begin to ask questions. He wasn't very good at this though because he always felt vulnerable around Flame, but not this time; not with this. He finally reached his seat and sat down.
"Oh, hey you two!" Avalanche said. "We were just about to wake you up! Anyways, we're going to eat now so get ready to blow Chromis and his friends away with your cooking!"
"Yeah, we just woke up a little early is all." Flame shot a glare at Umber.
"Yep, must be our internal clock or something." Umber laughed nervously.
That's when Endwatcher and Atlantic came running over to the table. Their scales were wet, but they had obviously shaken off beforehand. Chromis was far behind them walking slowly toward the table. He obviously wasn't in a good mood but Umber knew it couldn't be worse than what he was feeling right now, so he didn't feel too bad. Unlike Endwatcher's and Atlantic's scales, his were soaking wet, leaving a trail of dark sand with every step.
"Stop being a sore loser!" Atlantic yelled.
"You cheated though! I gave you my scrolls and then you repay me by plotting against me behind my back!" Chromis yelled back.
Scrolls? Is that what that treasure hunt was about? More scrolls? he thought.
"Wah, wah," Endwatcher mocked. "Get over here already! I heard your brother can cook and I'm hungry!" he paused. "You can cook, right?" he asked Flame.
"I mean, I guess you could say that," Flame said. "It wouldn't be as good though without Umber's help though, right Umber?" Flame shot him a glare.
Why are you putting me on the spot like this?! he thought. Maybe he wants to distract me?
"Uhm…y-yea," Umber said. "I don't do much though, I just help him mix the spices and sauce and stuff."
"You do plenty!" Flame corrected. "It'd take hours more without your help!"
"Oh whatever," Umber said. "He just says that to make me feel like my job is more important than it actually is," he not-so-quietly whispered to Atlantic and Endwatcher to which they giggled a little.
Chromis had gotten over to the table at this point and swiftly sat down with a pout. His scales were soaked so he started getting the table wet.
"Go shake off!" Avalanche rushed. "Quickly before you get the table soaked!"
Umber watched as Chromis ran a few meters from the table, shook off, then stomped his way back and sat down. He was obviously still not happy, but at least he wasn't throwing a temper tantrum.
Umber looked over at Flame's face and saw a slight smile begin to form. That's when Umber realized what Flame was doing, and that was to make him feel better and try to distract him from whatever he had seen, which meant he saw right through his lie. It was definitely working though; he felt far better than he did a few minutes ago. He wasn't tired anymore, but he assumed that it was just the adrenaline because the sleep he did get was definitely not enough.
"How long were we asleep?" Umber asked.
"Almost two hours I think," Endwatcher said.
The image of Crane's body flashed in his head, along with what she had said to him to which he winced a little. He couldn't help but often wish that it had been him instead. Icicle was going for him after all, so he thought that it must've been just a strange twist of fate.
But Flame wouldn't be how he is now! He thought. It's a lose-lose situation…Gah! Why can't anything just be simple?!
"Is everyone ready?" Avalanche questioned now that everyone was sitting down, to which everyone either nodded or said yes. "Alright then. Flame, Umber, you both can open it first since you made it."
Umber reached his talons toward one of the platters to show off one of the dishes. He could still feel the heat emanating from the platter, which wasn't too surprising because he's forgotten about food in this overnight and it was still warm enough to eat.
He hadn't remembered which plate this was either, but it was the only one that had a letter on it so he thought it had to be the best dish. He tried digging through his memory as he was reaching for it, trying to remember the dish they had marked and what it was. That's when Flame smacked his talons out of the way.
"Not so fast, Umber," Flame said. "I made that dish for us later."
"Wha- when did you do that?" Umber questioned.
"I made it while you went to the store for more eggs," Flame laughed.
"We didn't need more eggs, did we?" Umber asked.
"Nope," Flame said. "Not even close."
"Awww," Atlantic interjected to which Avalanche quickly shushed her.
"Okay, then what about this one?" he slowly moved his talons over to one of the other dishes.
"Any of them except the one you just tried to open," Flame said.
Umber then grabbed the handle of the dish and pulled the top off, revealing one of the platters of tender ribs that made Umber's stomach growl at just the sight. Immediately, the smell began to fill the air until all he could smell were the ribs. This had probably been the longest he's gone without eating in at least a year, so he was pretty excited, to say the least.
"Woah!" Endwatcher gasped. "You really can cook!"
"Just something I picked up over the years," Flame explained. "It's nothing much, really."
"That's a little more than just something you picked up over the years," Atlantic said.
"Well, someone has to do it I guess," Flame said. "Anyways, go on! Grab whatever you want! There's chicken, ribs, steak, mashed potatoes, and cooked and…raw salmon." Umber could see the visible disgust on his face when he said that. "Don't worry though, the salmon is still good. I made sure to put some ice in the bowl so that it didn't spoil."
"Raw salmon?" Shrimp interjected. "My favorite!"
"Yeah…delicious," Flame said sarcastically.
Everyone was helping themselves to everything, keeping away from the one dish that Flame had said was theirs. He was suspicious that Avalanche and Shrimp already knew what was inside of it, but he didn't try and ask them because he knew that whatever it was, obviously meant a lot to Flame to keep a secret. He was still excited to see what was inside though because it had to be good if he was going through all this trouble just so that he could keep it a secret instead of just telling him.
Umber grabbed one of the flimsy paper plates and waited until everyone was done grabbing their food so that he could freely spin the tower and look at each dish. He ended up getting ribs, chicken, a few steaks, and a serving of mashed potatoes which took him three plates to fit everything on. He then walked over to his seat and sat down while balancing all three plates in his talons, but eventually got them lying flat on the table.
"Geez Umber, save some for the rest of us," Flame joked.
"I haven't eaten since lunch," Umber explained. "I'm starving!"
"I think everyone here is probably hungry." Flame stifled a laugh under his breath.
"I think that I'm the only MudWing here," Umber said.
He took his first rib and sucked the meat off the bone. By now, he was used to Flame's cooking so it didn't surprise him that it was good. The meat was tender and juicy, the barbecue sauce was the perfect balance of tangy and sweet, and the meat hardly even stuck to the bone. He finished all of the ribs he had on his plate in just a few minutes.
"You two have really outdone yourselves this time," Avalanche said.
"Just like all the other times we've "outdone ourselves"," Flame said.
"That just means we're improving, Flame!" Umber said. "Maybe one day we could open our own restaurant, just like how you've always wanted to!"
All Flame did was give a quick smirk that he quickly dropped. Umber didn't think much of it, but he found it a little sad that Flame seemed to not be confident enough that they would ever open a restaurant. He knew how happy he'd be if they had opened one, and Umber would be happy as long as he was beside Flame while doing it.
He looked across the table over at Shrimp and watched as he dropped one of the raw fish into his mouth and he couldn't help but gag from watching him. He's only tried raw fish once before, and that's when he was so hungry out in the field and didn't have time to cook it. Marsh had to look after him because he was puking all day after that.
He then began eating the chicken, and he finished the first one in only a few bites. The chicken was also extremely good, but not surprising. The chicken fell apart like it was a roast, and the seasonings on it were also really good. Everything about anything that Flame cooked always made Umber's stomach growl whether he had just had an entire feast or not. He always thought how lucky he was to be a MudWing that was dating a chef; basically a chef anyways. He wasn't official or anything, but he was definitely good enough to be one.
Then, he moved on to the steaks he had and was most excited about them. Flame had a certain way of cooking them that would always make Umber excited to eat them, and definitely made the steaks taste better than all of his other food. He's watched Flame do this for years and still wonders how he even came up with it.
What he would do is he would take a large pot and fill it up with water. After letting the raw steak warm to room temperature, he would place it in a weird plastic bag and then lay the bag in the water. The water wasn't very hot or anything and that's why he would leave it in it for a few hours. Once it was done, he would very precisely give the steak crust by breathing a little fire on it.
Just as he expected, the first steak was delicious. The meat was tender and the steak was juicy just like everything else. The burnt seasoning on the beef made the taste even better in Umber's opinion. He quickly sucked down the first steak and moved on to the second one, then the third one while using the mashed potatoes as a sort of dipping. By that, everything on his three plates was completely gone and he felt about ready to fall asleep.
"Done already?" Flame said. "That has to be a new record or something MudWing. Do you think you still have any room left? I still have that one last thing I wanted to give you."
Oh no, I completely forgot about that! Umber thought. As long as it's something I like, I'm sure I'll eat it though.
"I could probably fit in a few more pounds if I tried," Umber joked.
"Good, because I have a feeling you're gonna love this!" Flame said enthusiastically.
"You're so sweet," Umber said.
He rested his head against Flame's shoulder before he leaned forward and pulled the metal tower of plates toward him, probably so that Umber didn't have to take his head off.
Umber watched as he spun the tower around until the metal plate with an "A" drawn on it was within reach. Slowly, he reached his talons for it and grabbed onto the handle at the top. Umber was excited to see what was underneath it because he had been keeping it such a big secret all day.
He slowly lifted the rounded top, until whatever was under it was completely exposed to the air. At last, he realized that the secret had been an apple pie that looked much like the one Flame made when they first met. The cuts on the top were the same and it looked to be around the same size.
"Is that what I think it is?" Umber asked.
"Yep! It's the first thing I made you! Same recipe and everything!" Flame said. Umber could tell that he was waiting for some sort of reaction, so he gave it to him.
"I love it!" Umber said. "You're missing something though…"
"Wait, what?" Flame panicked. "What'd I forget? I thought I was following everything perfectly! Did I mess it up?"
"Big time," Umber paused, creating a moment of suspense on purpose. "You forgot to call me a gross MudWing this time!"
"You made me think I ruined it for a second." Flame laughed. "So, you want a slice?"
"Of course!" Umber said. "Only a slice though, I'm pretty full from all of the food."
Umber lifted his head off of Flame's shoulder and reached his talons out to grab a plate when Flame took his talons.
"I'll do it. You should probably take a break," Flame said.
Umber knew what he was referring to, and it was that nightmare he had when they both woke up. He knew Flame was concerned, but he wasn't ready to talk about it yet. He also didn't want to be treated like a dragonet, with Flame even getting food for him at this point.
"Flame, I already told you that I'm fine!" Umber said. "It was just a little nightmare is all."
"Yeah, 'course." Flame shot him a glare and Umber realized he wasn't going to say anything in front of everyone, which he was grateful for.
Flame started cutting out a generous slice of the pie with his talons. Umber could see the filling spill out as he lifted it up and plopped it onto a plate, and he was immediately hungry again.
Flame slid the plate over to Umber and then sat back down next to him and he immediately began digging in. The apple pie had brought him back many memories from the past; memories like how Flame wouldn't eat any of the pie, how he gave him one of his graphicolls, and how he even promised to teach him how to read. Then there were also memories of how he tried pushing him away and started reinforcing his walls just as he was starting to bring them down.
Poor Flame, Umber thought. Stonemover really took a toll on him. At least he's better now.
"This is great!" Umber said. "It tastes even better than the first time! Are you sure you used the same recipe?"
"Yep, same recipe!" Flame said. "A few things might be slightly off, but that's because I haven't made it in two years."
Umber looked around and could see that everyone was staring at them. He completely forgot that there were others around and that they were watching them do everything they were doing as if they weren't even there and he felt a little embarrassed.
"You two really are meant to be," Atlantic said. "You should see the look in your eyes whenever Flame looks at you!"
Umber felt himself begin to blush even more when he realized that even a dragonet realized that he was crazy for Flame. His face was turning red and all he wanted to do was change the subject. Flame didn't seem too surprised though, and Umber wasn't surprised that he wasn't. Flame knew how much Umber loved him. He would sit in a cell for the rest of his life if it meant he was saving Flame from that fate.
"That's just what happens when an incredibly handsome MudWing meets an incredibly charming SkyWing," Flame smiled. "Besides, if he wasn't crazy for me he wouldn't have kissed me and ran with his tail between his legs."
"I don't think crazy justifies you two," Simoom commented. "More like disrespectful."
"Simoom, that's enough," Shrimp said. "Why can't you just get along with them? Most of this party wouldn't have been possible without them. They made one mistake and now you won't get off their back about it, so I think the only one being disrespectful is you."
"Whatever." Simoom scoffed.
Umber ignored what Simoom said and finished his slice of pie, licking the plate clean and setting it on top of the pile of all of the other plates of food he had. He guessed that this was probably the most food he had eaten in a while and was definitely the most full he had been in some time.
"Well, I wouldn't be so crazy for you if you weren't so adorable," Umber continued after a few moments of silence.
"Adorable?" Flame said. "Don't call me adorable! That makes me sound like a wuss."
"I mean, you can be sometimes," Umber said.
"Whatever MudWing," Flame said.
Umber looked over and could see the stars in the night sky now. Each star looked like a white spec in the sky. It looked like someone had flicked their paintbrush against a black background and this was the result. The crickets were in the background, the waves were crashing, and the sand was cold against his talons.
Stargazing was always one of Umber's favorite things to do with Flame. Sometimes, they would set up a blanket and lay in their backyard and stare up at the sky for hours until they ended up falling asleep. They would usually wake up to the sounds of dragonets playing in the street and were even poked awake by one that thought they were dead.
"Who's ready for one more surprise?" Avalanche said.
"Me!" Endwatcher, Atlantic, and Chromis yelled.
"Alright. Flame, Umber, can you go grab those rocks from the pile before and set up the fire?" Avalanche said. "Me and Shrimp are going to go look for sticks to add and you three can play while we're gone."
"A fire?" Chromis said. "Are we roasting marshmallows?"
"No marshmallows," Flame said. "Sorry. I thought that there was already enough sugar in the sauces and spices, especially for a dragonet."
"Awwww," Chromis whined.
"We can tell stories though!" Umber quickly said. "We have to go build it first though, so let's hurry up and do that before it gets too late."
Umber began walking over to the pile of rocks from before. Flame was following close behind him and was gazing up at the stars every time he turned around to check if he was still there. It was pitch black out now. It was like a strange fog that had dropped over them in minutes and Flame had to use his fire to light the way since it was far too cold for Umber to.
In the distance, Umber could see the faint outline of the pile of rocks they made before. There were some small ones, big ones, sharp ones, and rounded ones but they didn't know which ones would work best so Umber decided he would just take them all and figure it out once they got back.
He could hear Chromis, Atlantic, and Endwatcher playing a game and could see Simoom was lighting up the area with her fire too whenever he turned around to check on him. A part of him was a little scared of the dark, but the other half reminded him that Flame was there to protect him since he couldn't use his fire. Flame has never had to protect him from anyone before; physically, that is. He's had his fair share of mental abuse over the years from different dragons and Flame was usually there to help.
They finally reached the rocks and Umber began picking up as many as he could carry. The air was filled with silence and the sound of the crickets gave him a strange sense of calm.
"Umber, about what happened earlier-" Flame was cut off
"I already told you it was just a nightmare," Umber said. "why won't you just realize that nothing's wrong?"
Why won't you stop asking?! Umber thought. I don't like lying, but I'm obviously not ready to talk about it!
"Okay, okay, fine," Flame agreed. "I'm just worried is all."
"There's nothing to be worried about," Umber assured. "It was just a little nightmare is all."
He took as many rocks as he could fit in his wings, on his back, and in his talons and quickly scurried back to the campsite, following Simoom's fire and leaving Flame behind. He felt bad for doing it, but he strangely didn't want to be around him when they were alone right now.
He dropped the rocks down in a pile in front of the table and immediately began building the fire, trying to forget about the image of Crane's corpse lying in a pool of blood in front of him. He was pounding the sharper rocks into the sand with considerable force in a circle, then Flame showed up and dumped his pile of rocks on his and began helping him. He shot him a worried stare a few times while they were building but Umber tried his best to ignore it.
After a few minutes, they finished building the outer edge and started placing some of the more rounded rocks down around the edges as support. Some of the rocks were sparkly and looked like they had gems hidden in them, but Flame didn't seem to have any interest in looking at them like he usually would, and that concerned Umber.
I'm sorry Flame, but I need to keep this to myself for now, Umber thought.
Just as they finished putting down the rounded rocks, Umber heard something that sounded like a pile of sticks dropped next to him which made him jump and let out a little yelp. It didn't help that he was already on edge from being in the dark either. He looked over and could see the red outline of Avalanche who had dropped her pile of sticks next to him and felt a little embarrassed.
"Don't scare me like that!" Umber reflexively yelled.
"What's got you all jumpy?" Avalanche said.
"I- uhm…I'm-" Umber tried to say.
"You're scared of the dark, aren't you?" Simoom interjected. She was only standing a few meters away, so eavesdropping was a given.
"...Maybe?" Umber said.
"That's hilarious!" Simoom laughed hysterically. "A dragon that's killed other dragons is scared of the dark!"
"It's not like I wanted to kill them!" Umber snapped. "Besides, I wouldn't be here today if I didn't…" he trailed off.
The image of Crane flashed in his mind again, but he quickly batted that thought to the side because Flame already seemed suspicious about what had put him on edge when he woke up.
"Okay, let's change the subject," Avalanche interrupted. "Let's get this fire going so we can all see two feet in front of us."
She picked up a talonful of sticks and threw them in the pit. Shrimp had also thrown all of his there and Umber only realized he was there once he did that since he was obscured in the dark.
Once all of the sticks were in the pit, Avalanche blew a plume of fire that immediately made the pile of sticks go up in flames. The sudden warmth of the fire made Umber fall backward and it felt like he was still in the kitchen with the oven on and the fresh smell of perfectly cooked food in the air.
Chromis, Atlantic, and Endwatcher immediately raced over to the fire once they realized that the fire was up and Simoom stopped lighting up the area with her fire.
"Yes! Finally!" Chromis said. "It's so cold out here! Can we tell stories now?"
"I know I said that this was the last surprise, but I have one more for Flame and Umber," Avalanche said.
"Wha- for us?" Umber asked in a confused tone.
"Well it's more like a surprise for Flame, but you both get to experience it!" Avalanche said. "Besides, you already have one of these."
"One of what-" he trailed off as Avalanche pulled something from her wing.
She pulled out a necklace that had the same silver chain that Umber's had, and it had a red gem that shined bright as it reflected the light off of the fire. It sparkled like all of the stars in the sky combined, letting off a yellow shine from the fire and Umber couldn't help but adore how beautiful it was. He thought that it was even more beautiful than the one he had, and that got him a bit jealous. That didn't stop the excitement he was feeling at the fact that they would have matching necklaces.
"That's…for me?" Flame said. His expression looked amazed and surprised at the same time. "It's so beautiful! Me and Umber could never afford…" he trailed off. "how much did you spend on that? It better not have been a lot, because then I'll feel like I have to pay you back!"
"It…wasn't much," she paused. "It only cost…maybe two of the towers of food you brought?"
"I- I can't take that!" Flame said. "Return it or something! I can't wear something that expensive!"
"Too late," Avalanche said. "the place has a no refund policy."
"Sell it then!" Flame pleaded. "I can't take that knowing how much it-"
"Flame, just take it," Shrimp said. "we both worked hard to get it, just like you worked hard to set most of this party up."
"Fine! If it will make you happy, then I'll put it on," Flame said. "But don't think that I'm not paying you back for this in some way."
Umber watched as Flame tried to put the necklace on, but ended up getting the chain caught on his horns just like he had. Then, he grabbed the chain and quickly untangled it from his horns, and put it around his neck, pretending as if nothing had even happened. To Umber that meant that he was obviously embarrassed about it, so he didn't say anything.
"It feels weird," Flame said. "It's really heavy around my neck like this."
"You get used to it," Umber said. "Sometimes I can't even tell that I have it on and have to check if it's there."
Flame came over and sat down next to him by the campfire and kept their scales close.
"Who's up for a story then?" Simoom interrupted. "I have a really good one I'm sure Chromis would like to hear."
"A story? What's it about?" Chromis asked impatiently.
"It's about a young dragonet that looked much like you, and one of his wild adventures in the rainforest."
"That's so cool!" Chromis said. "Can you tell it?"
"I'd love to!" Simoom said with a smile. "Once upon a time, a young dragonet who lived in the rainforest…"
Umber listened to the story with his head in his talons and could feel sleep slowly taking him back. The couple hours of sleep he had gotten earlier definitely wasn't enough and it didn't help that he had just eaten an entire buffet of food. He desperately tried to stay awake to listen to the story Simoom was telling, but sleep took him by surprise and he ended up passing out on Flame's shoulder.
"Umber… Umber! UMBER!" Flame yelled, nudging his shoulder.
"What?" he said drowsily. "I was sleep- how long was I asleep?"
"That's what I was waking you up for," Flame said. "Party's over."
"Awww I missed the story!" Umber complained.
He looked around and could see that they were the only ones around and the fire was just about out. Flame was holding the metal tower of plates in his talons, so he assumed that he was ready to leave.
"Don't worry, it wasn't that good so you didn't miss out on much," Flame said. "so how about we go home now and get some well-deserved rest?"
"Sounds good," Umber said. "I'm still a little mad I fell asleep though, even if I can get some real sleep now."
"You were only asleep for thirty minutes," Flame said. "Really, the story was kind of boring. I thought about joining you a few times."
"Was it really that bad?" Umber questioned.
"It wasn't the best story I've heard. I can tell you all about it tomorrow," Flame said.
"Yeah, I think I'm good if it was really that boring," Umber admitted.
"Alright then, let's go home." Flame gave him a peck on the cheek.
They both took off, slowly flying away from the beach and in the direction of the Sky Kingdom. Umber's sense of direction was pretty off after falling asleep, so he relied on the sound of Flame's wingbeats. All he could think about on the flight home was how excited he was to finally be able to go to sleep, and how boring it was to fly without being able to look down at the ground and admire the scenery.
They finally landed on their street and Umber rushed through the door and into their room. He bumped into a few things on the way, but Flame lit a candle as soon as he got in the door so he could see again. He lay in bed for a few minutes while waiting for Flame to put down the food. He wasn't fully sleepy yet though; the flight had woken him up a bit.
After a few minutes, he saw the candle go out and could hear Flame creep his way through their bedroom door, closing it once he was inside and lying down next to Umber. He could feel one of Flame's wings cover him, but he was already half asleep and hardly even noticed.
"Goodnight, Umber," Flame said softly right before Umber was swept away into sleep.
Author's note: Finally decided I'd go out of my way to upload to Wattpad and AO3. Some of you may be reading this on them, so hello new people! Also, I finally made a cover haha. I think it really spices the story up a lot and it may or may not have been inspired by my pfp.
